Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-09-04

| the grape in the manufacture OF wine.
| The law includes carbonic acid in the
| list OF forbidden adulteranls, and,
therefore, prohibits the use OF the
carbonnting or new process" me-
| thod of making champagne. The
difference between the new and
| the old or French process is that
the new way is to manufacture the
carbonic acidgas separately and force
| il into the wine, Just as il is forced into
soda water, while by the old method
the gas is formed in the wine by the
natural process Of fermentation. Emf
nent expert authority is quoted in sup
rort of the statement that il is impossi-
Die for a chemist to tell by analysis
whether the gas in any sparkling wine
is the natural or the artificial product.
Imprisonment for year, $1,000 fine.
and an additional fine Of 81 gallon are
penalties that may be imposed for yio-
laiion of the law.
There ere about dozen firms in the
state engaged in the manufacture of
the "new-process" wine. Most of
them are in this city. They held a
conference last week aud decided to
continue the business as usual, and to
unite in making legal fight if any at
tempt is made TO enforce that part OF
the law. They claim that the words
"carbonic acid" were slipped into the
bill in the interest of foreign-wine men
and manufacturers in this country who
use the French method.
At the office Of H. 7. Dewey G. Son,
on Fulton street, it was said:
1.-THE law merely anticipates our
action. as We were about adopting the
old process anyhow, on account of the
bad name some unprincipled wine-con-
coctors had given to the carbonating
method by adulterating their product.
For that reason we are not in the COM
bination to fight the law, but we be-
lieve with the other wine men that
there is neither justice nor validity in
the prohibition Of the use of carbonlc
acid As for the rest Of the law, we
heartily favor L. 1t is as much a safe
Guard for reputable manufacturers as
for the public. The 'gaulizing' of
wine by the stretching Of it with water
and sugar, which is not dangerous
adulteration, can be continued, but the
'gaulzed product must be labelled at
It's true value. The law says letters
half an inch high must be used in
marking bottles as containing pure,
half, or made wines, according as
they have 25, 80, or - per cent. re-
spectiyely of the water and sugar in
them.
CAS- for regular injurious adultera-
ton, that is stopped altogether, and
You have no idea how much OF a stop
page that is. Why, they make wine
nowadays without n particle OF grape
Juice in it. We have Just received from
Portugal a proposition to supply us
with secret coloring matter. Tie
proposition has il all figured out for us
TO show that with an amount OF their
stuff, costing Sl3 in our money, We can
turn 1850 gallons OF white wine into
claret. They sent a sample with the
offer. Just SO much of it as could be
taken up on the point of a knile-bladc
turned a glass of water in an instant
into the loycliest claret-cOlored liquid
Won ever saw. 4 little Of this liquid
iakcn into the mouth TO sip. as wine
iasters sip it, Turned the tongue where
# touched i red.
New York wine men are glal of the
law. for il protects q business that IS
tremendous. Nobody drinks American
vine, apparently, yet there are seven
gallons OF it made for every gallon OF
vine that is imported. That sounds
funny, but it is fact. We don't sell
any Of it for anything but just what it
IS, but what is done with it after it gets
10 the iobbors and rctail-men and no.
tolkeepers we can guess pretty well by
the immense demand for this wine that
nobody drinks. The huge piles OF
empty cases labelled 'Rudesheimer,
'hockheimer' 'St. Julien, and 'Me-
doc, piled mp in the bottling depart
ments Of the dealers give a hint as to
Low some Of our product is used up.
7 he fact is, the American people don't
know anything about wine. They cant
tell anything about it, except what they
see on the label or the cork.